End of Summer Term Two Jul 25

Dear families,

 We have come to the end of another academic year at Olive Hill, and what a year it has been. As the year ends, it is important we all take time to reflect on the last 12 months and everything we have achieved. Please do make the most of the summer break and the extra time you have with each other – enjoy adventures, both big and small, and make memories together.

 Statutory assessments:

At Olive Hill, we want the best for our children and there are many, many ways that we measure their success both academically and as happy, confident, responsible citizens. The government direct us to measure the children’s attainment at certain times throughout their primary education and below you will see our outcomes for this academic year. (We have compared this to national where the data is available).

  • In reception, 63% of the cohort achieved a good level of development.  

  • In year one, 70% of the children passed the phonics screening test.

  • In year four, 75% of our children scored 25/25 on the multiplication check.

  • In year six, 62% of children attained age-related expectations in reading, writing and maths combined, this compares to a national of 62%; 77% of the children attained age-related expectations in reading compared to a national of 75%; 72% attained age-related expectations in writing compared to a national of 72%; 87% attained age-related expectations in maths compared to a national of 74%; and, 82% attained age-related expectations in grammar, punctuation and spelling compared to a of national of 73%. 

We are very proud of all the children; they have all worked incredibly hard to achieve the best outcome from their individual starting point.

Term dates for next academic year:

Monday 1st September – INSET
Tuesday 2nd September – INSET
Wednesday 3rd September – Return to school
Friday 24th October – Last day of autumn term one
Monday 3rd November – Return to school
Friday 5th December – INSET
Thursday 18th December – Last day of autumn term two
Friday 19th December – INSET
Monday 5th January – Return to school
Friday 13th February – Last day of spring one
Monday 23rd February – Return to school
Thursday 26th March – Last day of spring two
Friday 27th March – INSET
Monday 13th April – Return to school
Monday 4th May – Bank holiday
Friday 22nd May – Last day of summer one
Monday 1st June – Return to school
Friday 17th July – Last day of the academic year
Monday 20th July - INSET

School uniform:

We expect our children to attend school in the appropriate school uniform and take pride in their appearance. We know that many of you will purchase new school uniform over the summer break and below is a reminder of the expected uniform at Olive Hill:

  • Charcoal grey trousers or skirt (these should be tailored and skirts of a suitable length)

  • White Polo shirt

  • Royal blue jumper or cardigan (these can be purchased from the school office if you wish to have the school logo on them)

  • Headscarves in grey, black or royal blue

  • Hair accessories in white, royal blue, grey or black

  • Socks or tights in plain white, royal blue, grey or black

  • Plain black shoes or white, blue or black sandals during the summer (plain black trainers are permitted)

  • Summer dresses are to be royal blue and white for the summer

  • Charcoal grey tailored shorts during the summer

  • Small stud earrings

Please note, leggings and cycling shorts are NOT part of the school uniform

Please make sure all items of clothing are labelled. There are over 450 royal blue jumpers worn to school each day; it is very difficult to reunite lost items with the correct owner if they aren’t labelled.

There is a link on the school website if parents wish to purchase school uniform over the summer holiday. This can include the school logo.

PE kit:

Children are expected to wear their PE kit to school on specific days. The days will be specified at the start of the autumn term. As with school uniform, we have high expectations of the children and will expect them to wear the correct PE kit at all times. PE kits are to be worn with a school jumper or cardigan; children do not need a separate hoodie or tracksuit top. Below you will find a list of permitted PE kit:

  • Plain white t-shirt

  • Plain black jogging bottoms, leggings or shorts

  • Trainers (if your child wears plain black trainers to school, then the same trainers can be worn for PE)

Pre-loved uniform

There is a designated space in school where you can donate unwanted uniform and PE kit, and a place where you can browse what has been donated in the hope that it can be reused. We set this up for a variety of reasons: not only does it help people financially, but it also supports the environment. We encourage all our community to use it if they wish. The donated uniform is available free of charge. Please do save any unwanted uniform over the summer and bring it to school on the first day back. If you’d like to browse the items available, please speak to a member of staff in September.

School attendance

We are committed to providing all our children with the best possible education and care. For our children to gain the greatest benefit from their education, it is vital that they attend regularly. Every child should be in school, on time, every day that the school is open unless the reason for the absence is authorised by the school. It is very important therefore that parents and carers make sure that their child attends regularly. As a school we closely monitor the attendance of all our children, including those who are not statutory school age. We are not able to authorise term-time holidays and failure to comply with this could result in a fine. When requests for a leave of absence detail exceptional circumstances, we expect the minimum amount of time off school to be requested.

Free school meal summer vouchers

For those children entitled to benefit-related free school meals, vouchers have been issued for the summer holiday period via email tomorrow. You will receive £50 per child.

Pre-ordering food come September

Thank you for embracing our new meal pre-ordering system this half term. We appreciate that it has taken some getting used to, and we are grateful for your patience and support as we continue to improve the process.

Looking ahead to next term, we’d like to inform you of a few important updates:

  • Extended Ordering Time: From September, you will be able to order meals for your child up until midnight the day before. We hope this added flexibility will make the process easier for families. You will be able to start ordering for the new term from Monday 25th August.

  • New Menu: A refreshed menu will be introduced, offering a variety of choices to suit all tastes. We recommend sitting down with your child when placing orders, so they are involved and aware of the meals they have selected.

  • Meal Price Update: Due to the rising cost of food, the price of school dinners will increase to £2.55 per meal from the start of next term. We remain committed to providing high-quality, nutritious meals and appreciate your understanding as we make this necessary adjustment.

Well wishes

The staff at Olive Hill work exceptionally hard throughout the year to deliver a high-quality education to the children. Sadly, on occasions we do have to say goodbye to members of our team. As I informed you in our letter last week, we are saying goodbye to Mrs Honey, Mrs Allen, Mrs Parker, Miss Sandoz and Mrs Byng. I’m sure you will join us in thanking them all for their hard work and wishing them the best for their future.

We also said goodbye to our year six cohort today. Every year, without fail, this causes the tears to flow. We spend years investing in the lives of our children and doing our best to make a difference to them. We know they are ready for the next stage of their educational journey, but it doesn’t make it any easier. We wish them well in their next adventure!

I am truly honoured to have been acting headteacher this year. We have a wonderful staff team, fantastic children and a supportive community, who really make coming into school each day a real pleasure. On behalf of all the staff, may I wish you a wonderful summer break and we look forward to seeing you in the new school year.

We want all of our families to have a fantastic summer break. Should you have any safeguarding concerns over the holiday then you can email our Safeguarding lead account dsl@olive.dudley.sch.uk as this will be monitored over the break.  

We look forward to seeing the children at 8.45am on Wednesday 3rd September 2025.

Yours faithfully,
Miss Walters
Acting Headteacher

Viren Patel